13 of the Best Craft Beer Pubs, Bars and Breweries in London
London Beer Week is coming to town from Monday 13th-Sunday 19th March. Organised by Drink Up London (the people behind London Wine Week and London Cocktail Week), there is everything from keg parties to pop-ups, brewery tours to supper clubs. Official London Beer Week information can be found here (you’ll need to get tickets) and below is our pick of London’s best places for craft beer, from bottle shop to brewery.
Brixton Brewery
Small South London Brewery
Operating from a railway arch in Brixton, Brixton Brewery is one of the newest to London’s craft beer scene, hand crafting beer in small batches and delivering much of it by hand to local shops and restaurants. They’re so loyal to their community that their limited edition Effra Ale used hops grown less than 1km away and they supply Wahaca Brixton with an exclusive Lúpulo Ale. Plus, most of their names are locally inspired; Effra Ale, Electric I.P.A. and Windrush Stout all nod to the area. Sign up for a evening tour or swing by on Saturday from 12pm-6pm to chat to the guys and try the fruits of their labour.
Where: Arch 547, Brixton Station Road, Brixton, SW9 8PF
Website: www.brixtonbrewery.com
Camden's Daughter
Beer Inspired Food Menu
Kentish Towners are lucky to count Camden’s Daughter as a local. The beer and snack bar constantly has 13 taps of beer and a fully stocked fridge of cans to work your way through from Camden Town Brewery – the ‘mother’ brewery – as well as a selection of breweries across the UK. They do a tempting selection of food too, from beer can BBQ chicken to chocolate brownie soft serve ice cream topped with Flake, Crunchie or gummy bears.
Where: 289-291 Kentish Town Road, Camden, NW5 2JS
Website: www.camdensdaughter.com
Beavertown Brewery
North London Brewery
Recognisable for their punky illustrated cans, Beavertown began life in 2011 in North London’s De Beauvoir Town (see the similarities in the name…?). Beavertown HQ is now in Tottenham Hale and although a vast, fully-functioning brewery hosts open days in their taproom complete with street food from KERB’s Capish. Try their classic Gamma Ray American Pale Ale as well as the more experimental collaborations and seasonal creations.
Where: Units 2, 17 and 18, Lockwood Industrial Park, Mill Mead Road, Tottenham Hale, N17 9QP
Website: www.beavertownbrewery.co.uk
The Earl of Essex
Traditional Pub With Great Beers
The Earl of Essex is a traditional pub with a real passion towards great beer. Islington’s first brewpub, it’s also home to Earl’s Brewery and serves a constantly changing menu of local and international beers. Food matches up to the beer so you can make a day of it, and visit in summer to soak up the sun in the pub’s beer garden.
Where: 25 Danbury Street, Islington, N1 8LE
Website: www.earlofessex.net
Sambrook's Brewery
Battersea Brewery
Battersea was blessed with Sambrook’s Brewery in 2008, masterminded by a former Deloitte accountant. Thankfully as good with beer as he is with numbers, it churns out keg, cask and bottled beers and has just opened a brewery shop and bar which is open to the public from Thursday to Saturday. They also offer tours and private venue hire, with tours starting at 7pm on the first and third Wednesday of every month. Meet the founder, Duncan Sambrook and explore the tap room and brewery itself.
Where: Unit 1 & 2 Yelverton Road, Battersea, SW11 3QG
Website: www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk
Brew By Numbers
Bermondsey Brewery
Friends Dave and Tom taught themselves how to brew in 2011. An experimental approach led to subtle variations in the production of each beer and the Brew By Numbers concept was born, celebrated with a beer-fuelled launch party at The Craft Beer Co. in Clerkenwell. The minimalist labels are functional as well as attractive – 08|02, for example, means a second recipe stout, with 08 standing for the style and 02 for the recipe. The brewery is open Friday evenings and Saturday all day for visitors to drink their new creations on site or take away and drink later. Look out for foodie events and beer collaborations in the taproom throughout the year.
Where: 79 Enid Street, Bermondsey, SE16 3RA
Website: www.brewbynumbers.com
Draft House
Local Pubs
Draft House are the group behind local pub/bars such as Charlotte W1, Birdcage E2 and Northcote SW11. Beer is passionately sourced with up to 20 on draft at any one time, and more than 50 bottled. They put the same passion into their food and so have the ideal bar snack accompaniments – the likes of Scotch eggs, chilli squid, burgers and foot-long scratchings.
Where: Various
Website: www.drafthouse.co.uk
Want More?
- CERU have joined up with the Wiltshire based Hop Kettle Brewery to create their own CERU Pale Ale to go with their Levantine cuisine – it’s perfect with their slow-roasted lamb shoulder which comes in a secret blend of twelve shawarma spices.
- As part of London Beer Week, The Capital Hotel’s Head Chef, Tom Brown, and Sharp’s Brewery’s Beer Sommelier, Ed Hughes, have created a special menu for beer novices and connoisseurs alike; a unique experience where beer meets Michelin-starred seafood.
- German Gymnasium have a beer inspired menu available throughout March with the likes of beetroot cured salmon and beer ponzu and ice beer marinated 28 days dry aged Scotch beef fillet being served.
- Between the 13th and 17th March, Plateau will be serving dishes such as dark ale braised beef cheek ravioli and a Pale Ale pulled pork burger. You can also go for a beer pairing so you can try the likes of London Porter, London Pale Ale and a raspberry wheat beer.
